Like the head of a millenarian sect, rap titan Kanye West has spent much of his recent born-again Christian phase making lavish promises of spiritual fulfillment all while naming, and renaming, future dates for the arrival of this revelation: namely, his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King, which dropped today at noon.
Over a year ago, West’s ninth album was set to be released under the title Yandhi on Sept. 29, 2018. Then came a year’s worth of invitation-only “Sunday Service” events, where gospel choirs decked out in clothes from Kanye’s fashion label would join him in choral renditions of his greatest hits. At an Easter morning service at Coachella, West debuted the new album’s seventh track, “Water.”*
At one point the newly titled Jesus Is King was slated for release on this past Sept. 27, supposedly some sort of numerological reference to “Angel Number 927” which, per Urban Dictionary, Genius, and (um) Angelnumbers.com, “encourages you to pursue a spiritually-based career, practice and/or profession.” Failing that deadline, the album was supposed to drop last night at midnight, which it also failed to do, although West tweeted that he and his team were “not going to sleep until this album is out!”
Perfectionism aside, no doubt part of the delay yesterday was that West and his wife were busy partying with Martha Stewart at Cipriani for a Fashion Group International charity event.
Have the angelic forces of the great number 927 abandoned this album? What happens when prophecy fails? Fans can judge for themselves! Jesus Is King is available now!
Correction, Oct. 25, 2019: This piece originally misstated the track number of the song “Water.” It’s the seventh track on the album, not the ninth.
